


You're Arguing With Yourself

by Hexlorde



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Fictober 2019, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Relationship, the author is jumping on the "we don't know just what lyrium can do" train
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 00:43:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20898833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hexlorde/pseuds/Hexlorde
Summary: Fenris didn't want to spend his evening searching back alleys for Anders, but if what he's seeing is what he thinks it is then it's a good thing he's here...In other words, what if Fenris found out about Anders/Vengeance's plan beforehand?





	You're Arguing With Yourself

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Fictober 2019 Day 4 prompt "I know you never asked for this."
> 
> Another disclaimer: I've only been exposed to DA:II through YouTube clips and the fandom, but ho-boy if I haven't gotten dragged into this ship.

Fenris growled as he paced through the back alleys of Kirkwall. Hawke had sent him to find the abomination (or at least, he thinks that was what had been shouted at him while he left the Hanged Man) and so far there had been no sign of him. Granted, the trip hadn’t been all bad; Fenris had gotten to speak with a few guards who Aveline had stationed around his home when Daenerys had still been a threat. But they had been stationed by the Market, and by now he was deep in the bowels of Lowtown.   
  
Of all the things that idiotic mage could do, he had to run away and hide during one of Hawke’s infamous “Game Nights” right after he told everyone that he had everything he needed to make a potion to cure himself. Now the rest of the group was trying to pull the blond-haired apostate into as many shenanigans as they could, and Fenris was the unlucky soul to be sent out and find him. At this rate he was about ready to whack Anders upside the head and carry him to the Hanged Man if he tried to pull some excuse like “I need to perfect my manifesto.”  
  
Before Fenris had time to spin himself into more of a mood his ears caught a faint argument down an alley. Between that and the hum of his markings all signs point to it being Anders, so he sighs and starts trudging along. The closer he gets the angrier the argument sounds, and by the time that he can see the mage he can make out even the half mumbled words that spill from Ander’s lips.   
  
And that’s definitely Anders, though Fenris can’t quite make out who he’s arguing with… Oh.  
  
The mage’s eyes flare blue and another voice echoes from his mouth, saying “THERE IS NO COMPROMISING. WE MUST DO THIS FOR THE SAKE OF ALL THAT THEY HAVE HURT.”  
  
The light fades and Ander’s slumps down. “No, please, there has to be another way. How is it justice to kill innocent children who have done mages no wrong? Some of them might even be mages and not know it! Even if the clerics have contributed to the horrors of the Circle that doesn’t mean that we should punish everyone around them!” he says.  
  
Between the words and the tone, Fenris’s heart starts to race. If he’s hearing this right then Justice is trying to push the mage into attacking the Chantry, and Anders… Anders sounds scared, and lost, and yet there’s a kind tone in his voice that Fenris hasn’t heard since before the mage had brought up the potion with Hawke. Could the demon have been pushing for this even then? Has Ander’s sullen mood been caused by his fight against the thing possessing him?  
  
Before Fenris can step out and say anything Justice takes over again, the blue light flaring harsher than before. “SILENCE! THIS IS WHAT MUST BE DONE, AND YOU WILL NOT SHIRK YOUR DUTIES! WE LEAVE NOW!”  
  
The demon doesn’t retreat back into the mage's body and instead turns to go to the Chantry. Without thinking Fenris dashes forwards, his lyrium markings flaring as he slams the abomination against the wall. For a brief moment the man looks up at him, eyes suddenly clear of the blue light. “I am truly sorry Anders. I know you never asked for this,” Fenris says as he plunges his hand into the mage’s chest.  
  
His fingertips brush against Ander’s beating heart, and he almost grabs it and rips it out. But something is calling to the lyrium embedded in his skin towards the center of the mage’s chest. He wraps his hand around that instead, tugging at it until something rips free.   
  
When he pulls his hand back there isn’t any blood. Instead something blue strings between his (still intangible) hand and the mage’s chest. There aren’t any wounds either, but it’s clear that something is leaving Anders. He’s gasping for air, leaning back against the wall as Fenris draws away.  
  
The glowing blue something starts to dissipate like steam, spreading out in a cloud and vanishing into the air. The two men are left alone, leaning against the wall and panting. Anders swallowed and croaked out “He’s gone.”  
  
Fenris looked up at him in shock. “Gone?” He had known that he hadn’t pulled out anything that was originally Anders’s, but to hear that he had pulled out Justice? It wasn’t supposed to be possible!  
  
The mage nodded. “Gone. For the first time in years it’s… quiet, inside my head. It feels strange.” He fixed Fenris with a look and quietly said “Thank you. What he was about to have me do, that wasn’t justice. It was murder.”  
  
Fenris huffed. “I trust that the past few years have taught you a lesson about letting yourself become an abomination?” His words lacked the usual bite to them, and about that time he realized that he was still half pressed against the other man’s chest. Anders didn’t seem to mind though, so he stayed where he was.  
  
In answer to his question Anders laughed, a bright sound that Fenris hadn’t heard since the era when Hawke had first gathered them together. “Yeah, I think I have.”  
  
The two of them sank down to the ground, neither of them moving away from the other. The sounds of Kirkwall’s nightlife were far away that it all faded into the background, letting them sit together in silence. For a while, neither of them speak, but then Fenris groans.  
  
“I was supposed to fetch you for Game Night,” he says.  
  
Anders blinks at him. “Well shit,” he breathes. It’s enough to get them both moving, and when Fenris stands he finds himself offering his hand to the other man. Anders accepts it with a smile, and even after he’s been hauled to his feet he doesn’t let go. For some reason, neither does Fenris. They’ll have a lot of explaining to do, and there’s no telling how the others will react, but at least the worst is over now.


End file.
